Hiddink ready to cash in his options
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Article summary
Guus Hiddink admits he is looking forward to the "luxury of having options" after watching Michael Essien and defender Ricardo Carvalho step up their recoveries from injury by turning out for Chelsea FC's reserves on Monday.
Article top media content
Article body
Chelsea FC manager Guus Hiddink admitted he was looking forward to having the "luxury" of a full squad to choose from after watching Michael Essien and Ricardo Carvalho step up their recoveries from injury by turning out for the reserves.
Comeback close
Essien made his first appearance in six months at Villa Park on Monday night, playing 90 minutes and scoring a well-taken late goal as Chelsea were defeated 4-3 by Aston Villa FC. The Ghanaian has been sidelined since undergoing surgery on a cruciate knee ligament injury sustained while on international duty in September but a first-team comeback is on the horizon, to the obvious delight of interim Chelsea boss Hiddink. "I have [already] seen Essien in training sessions and he's close, very close," said the Dutchman. "It's good that we have some more options."
Options
Carvalho also returned to the fray in Birmingham after a five-week layoff with a hamstring problem, coming through an hour untroubled before being taken off. "We are now going into the decisive months and it is good for a manager to have a full squad," said Hiddink. "It is a luxury as a manager to have a lot of thoughts before a game over who to play. We'll soon have more options in terms of the team's shape and tactics and it will give us some variations for the remaining games. I hope we can stop Manchester United winning five trophies this season. I'd love to stop Sir Alex Ferguson in his aim."
'Main objective'
There was a glint in his eye as Hiddink delivered that salvo and, though he has enjoyed three successive wins since replacing Luiz Felipe Scolari, the 62-year-old is not losing sight of his No1 goal. "The main objective, when we started talking about me taking up the role for the rest of the season, was to qualify automatically for the Champions League," he said. "What we could do 'extra' was 'extra'. I'm not naïve. United have a very good squad and, realistically, it will be difficult to catch them. But, as long as there is a possibility, you never know." A win tonight at Portsmouth FC would cut United's advantage to four points, for 24 hours at least, though Chelsea will be without Nicolas Anelka due to a damaged toe.
